4-H LEAP - LEAP Speakers

Keynote Speaker:

Making an Impact

4-H Alumna

UC ANR Associate Director

Government & Community Relations

Sheron joins UC ANR after retiring from 28 years of legislative service in California. During her tenure, she was a chief of staff and for over 14 years she served as the Deputy Secretary of Operations for the California State Senate. Sheron is a 4th generation Californian raised on a working cattle ranch in Monterey County. She was a member of the Buena Vista 4-H club

from 1974-1984.

Session:

Tiny Habits for Success

Ready to make a change or create a new habit? BJ Fogg Stanford Professor and author of “Tiny Habits” provides a method on how to create habits by starting small. Sheron Violini is a certified Tiny Habits consultant and an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach who will lead you through the process. Handouts will be provided so when you leave the workshop you will be on your way to making a positive change. If you are curious check out the website https://tinyhabits.com/ __________________________________

Session Speaker

Tanya Daly

Alameda County 4-H Staff

Community Education Specialist II

Tanya Daly was involved with 4-H as an adult volunteer, club leader, and project leader for 12 years. As a club leader, she encouraged and supported project leaders in setting up their projects to bring a wide range of opportunities to 4-H youth.

Session:

Project Leader Essentials

This session will cover project essentials including brainstorming project topics, structuring and expanding the project, and available resources. This session will help new leaders who want to get started and experienced leaders who are looking for new ideas. Participants will leave ready to jump start their Project Plan.

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Session Speaker

Dr. Kaitlyn Murray

4-H Alumnus

California State Office

4-H Access, Equity, and

Belonging Academic Coordinator

Kait Murray (she/they) serves as California 4-H's Access, Equity, and Belonging Academic Coordinator. She is passionate about creating spaces that center the needs and desires of marginalized communities.

Kait completed their Ph.D. in Science and Agricultural Education at UC Davis.

Session:

1) Inclusion Practices for All:

Join us as we explore ways to be more inclusive, welcome new families, and create spaces that help youth thrive! Work together through hands-on activities and scenarios about differences in culture, neurodivergence, and LGBTQ inclusion to learn how to build a sense of belonging.

2) Living the Platinum Rule - Strategies for Belonging:

How do we treat others the way that they want to be treated, and create spaces where all people belong and are free to be themselves? Think through these questions and more __________________________________

Session Speaker

Jenel Vincze

UCCE Staff and 4-H Volunteer

Primarily serving the Composting Education, Master Gardener and Project Learning Tree programs at UCCE.

Jenel also serves as a 4-H Volunteer Enrollment Coordinator at the club and county level. Mother of three young men who all went through the 4-H program as youth members. Has held nearly every club position over the last 22 years.

Session:

Navigating ZSuite for VEC's:

This session will go through the new enrollment system, access for club leaders & VECs. Club volunteers that help with enrollment are also welcome.

Bring your Laptop & ZSuite log in info.

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Session Speaker

Bree Barnett Dreyfuss

UCCE Staff and 4-H Volunteer

Bree is a 4-H alumni and a Contra Costa County volunteer focusing on youth leadership development. She has 20 years of classroom teaching and experience in supporting professional teacher communities.

Session:

1) Writing Letters of Recommendation:

Supporting Our Youth Leaders

Are any youth you know asking for a letter or recommendation as they apply for an opportunity, County Ambassador, State Ambassador, or National Conference Application? Join Bree to get some guidance on the process and how to help youth succeed.

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Session Speaker

Gemma Miner

California State 4-H

Interim Assistant

Statewide Director

Gemma Miner is a youth development professional with over 40 years of partnering with youth to help them thrive. She earned a Master of Science in Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration from Western Illinois University. Gemma has served the 4-H community for 15 years. She has provided extensive youth services, including outdoor education, camping, school-aged childcare, at-risk youth programming, marketing and communications, and special event management. She has extensive experience in professional development for staff, volunteers and youth. Her sparks are youth development, the outdoors, personal development, learning, service, and all things Disney!

Session:

1) Working Together Smoothly: Tips for Volunteers to work with parents and youth Start with clear communication using a simple project plan. Help everyone stay on the same page by sharing how to understand codes of conduct, offering gentle guidance, solving issues quickly, setting clear timelines, and knowing when to ask for extra help.

2) Leading with Love: Building Strong Connections Through Compassionate Leadership This think-tank-style session will focus on how leading with love can transform relationships and create positive change. We’ll explore practical strategies to foster trust, inspire others, and gracefully handle challenges. Our goal is to empower you to lead with heart and make a meaningful impact.

Do you know I love you? _________________________________

Session Speaker

Dr. Sally Neas

San Mateo/San Francisco Counties 4-H Youth Development Advisor

Sally Neas, Ph.D., is the 4-H Youth Development Advisor for San Mateo-San Francisco counties. In this capacity, she uses research and program development to support positive youth development in the areas she serves. Her expertise includes teen leadership, engaging diverse audiences and environmental education.

Sessions:

1) Supporting teen leadership and engagement

It's no secret that adolescence can be an exciting but also tumultuous time in a young person's life. Enrollment data also shows that teens are a difficult demographic to retain in 4-H. In this session, we will explore new research on adolescent development, developmental assets and teen retention. We will also discuss evidence-based, practical strategies for leveraging these developmental assets into teen leadership and retention in 4-H. This session will be interactive and reflective and participants will leave with practical ideas they can implement in their club to retain and empower teenagers in 4-H.

2) Positive Youth Development:

What it is and how to support it

In this session, we will explore the power of youth-adult relationships in shaping positive youth development. We will explore what positive youth development (PYD) is, including new research-based frameworks and delve into the role that adults can play in supporting PYD. We will also learn evidence-based strategies for fostering relationships that support PYD, as well as share our own knowledge and experience about how to use these strategies in a 4-H context.

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Session Speaker

Jenna Colburn

4-H Alumna

California State Office

CES IV Program Team Leader

Jenna leads and coordinates the statewide youth leadership, civic engagement, and service-learning programs for 4-H. She plans, develops, and provides training to 4-H Youth Development staff, volunteers, and youth in each of these areas. In addition to planning and managing various conferences and leadership events, Jenna leads the Civic Engagement/Service-Learning Advisory Committee. Jenna has been a California State office staff for 11 years and was involved in 4-H for over 16 years prior to joining the state office.

Session:

Transforming Group to Team

Join us for a learning experience designed to equip you with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to navigate team dynamics effectively, and lead your team to success.

Learning Outcomes:

What makes an effective team?
The stages of team development
How to identify and avoid team dysfunction

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Session Speaker

T'Nay Pham

San Mateo/SF Counties 4-H Staff,

4-H Volunteer & Project Leader

T’Nay Pham is the new 4-H Program Coordinator for San Mateo and San Francisco counties. With deep roots in 4-H, T’Nay grew up in Calaveras County, where she raised livestock. T’Nay has long been committed to giving back to the 4-H community, leading the Pack & Dairy Goat project in Santa Clara County as an adult volunteer. She is eager to bring that same passion and dedication to the youth of San Mateo and San Francisco counties, helping them create the unforgettable experiences that have so profoundly shaped her own life.

Session:

Experiential Learning:

4-H utilizes a 5-step experiential learning model (experience-share-process-generalize-apply) to promote members' sense of belonging, competence and agency. Utilizing the experiential learning model helps young people develop deeper understanding of subject matter, practice skills and gain practical wisdom through authentic experiences, guided reflection and application in new situations.

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Session Speaker

Cynthia Chavez

California State Coordinator for Project Learning Tree (PLT).

PLT is an environmental education program that trains formal and non-formal educators on the program and encourages them to take youth outside. PLT aims to teach environmental education in every subject and in a hands-on way. PLT aims to advance environmental literacy through training adult volunteers and teachers on the curriculum so they have more tools to teach youth about the natural world using a variety of subjects.

The program teaches students "how to think, not what to think" in relation to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

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Session Speaker

Brenda Vales &

Zeva Cho

Contra Costa County CES II

and Statewide Program Manager

Session:

Navigating 4-H Policy

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Session Speaker

Cristina Murillo Barrick

UC Cooperative Extension

BIPOC Community Development Advisor

Cristina Murillo Barrick (she /ella) is the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Community Development Advisor for the San Francisco / Bay Area. She has over 10 years of experience working with young people in environmental and higher education.

As the first advisor ever to take on this role, she has been growing relationships and trust with BIPOC leaders and organizations throughout the region. One component of her work involves connecting historically underserved communities to UC ANR programs, and educating those programs on how to employ restorative justice frameworks to better serve all Californians.

Session:

Leadership Compass:

Strength based leadership practices for adults and 4-H youth

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Session Speaker

Ashley Wheeler

4-H Parent & Volunteer

Project Leader & Club Leader

Alameda County

Sessions:

1)Meetings don't have to be boring! Do you want to add some FUN?

Come learn and share great ideas for games and activities to do at club and project meetings! Learn by doing (and having fun)!

2) 4-H Outreach Tips & Tricks:

Are you tired of doing the same outreach over and over? Come learn what has worked, what hasn't, and everything in between! We will talk about what leads to a successful outreach event and how to maximize your time and energy.

We will also be sharing some simple hands-on outreach activities to show how fun and easy outreach can be! Everyone will leave with a handout of some creative outreach ideas.

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Session Speakers

California State

4-H Ambassadors

The 4-H State Ambassador position is one of the highest service opportunities and recognition attainable in the University of California 4-H Youth Development Program. One of the California 4-H State Ambassadors' roles is to provide educational workshops throughout the state.

Session:

Building Effective Youth-Adult Partnerships

Youth-Adult Partnerships (YAP) are powerful collaborations where young people and adults work together as equals, sharing decision-making, responsibilities, and power. These partnerships thrive on mutual respect, trust, and a commitment to shared goals.

In this interactive workshop, participants will engage in hands-on activities and explore key resources to deepen their understanding of YAP. Together, we will define what successful partnerships look like and identify the principles and practices that make them impactful. Join us to learn how to build meaningful, effective collaborations that empower all voices and drive positive change

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